Jeremiah 37

1 And then king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in place of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed him as king in the land of Judah.

Now Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king instead of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made Zedekiah king over the land of Judah.

2 And neither he himself, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, obeyed the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah, the prophet.

But Zedekiah, his servants, and the people of the land did not listen to the words of Yahweh that he proclaimed by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Pray to the Lord our God for us.”

So King Zedekiah, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest sent a message to Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Pray on our behalf to Yahweh our God.”

4 Now Jeremiah was walking freely in the midst of the people. For they had not yet sent him into the custody of the prison.

Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.

5 And then the army of Pharaoh went forth from Egypt. And hearing this, the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, withdrew from Jerusalem.

Pharaoh's army came out from Egypt, and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them and left Jerusalem.

6 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

7 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: So shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to question me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has gone forth in assistance to you, will return to their own land, into Egypt.

“Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: This is what you will say to the king of Judah, because he has sent you to seek advice from me, 'See, Pharaoh's army, which came to help you, is about to go back to Egypt, its own land.

8 And the Chaldeans will return and will make war against this city. And they will seize it and burn it with fire.

The Chaldeans will return. They will fight against this city, capture it, and burn it.'

9 Thus says the Lord: Do not be willing to deceive your own souls, saying: ‘The Chaldeans will certainly withdraw and go away from us.’ For they will not go away.

Yahweh says this: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, 'Surely the Chaldeans are leaving us,' for they will not leave.

10 But even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and if there were left behind from among them only a few wounded men, they would rise up, each one from his tent, and they would burn this city with fire.”

Even if you had defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting you so that only wounded men were left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city.”

11 Therefore, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,

So it was when the Chaldean army had left Jerusalem as Pharaoh's army was coming,

12 Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, and to distribute a possession there, in the sight of the citizens.

then Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin. He wanted to take possession of a tract of land there among his people.

13 And when he had arrived at the gate of Benjamin, the keeper of the gate, whose turn it was to be there, was named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are fleeing to the Chaldeans.”

As he was in the Benjamin Gate, a chief guard was there. His name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. He grabbed hold of Jeremiah the prophet and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

14 And Jeremiah responded: “That is false. I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. And so Irijah took Jeremiah, and he brought him to the leaders.

But Jeremiah said, “That is not true. I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah did not listen to him. He took Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

15 Therefore, the leaders were angry with Jeremiah, and so they beat him and sent him to the prison that was in the house of Jonathan, the scribe. For he was the chief over the prison.

The officials were angry with Jeremiah. They beat him and put him in prison, which had been the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had turned it into a prison.

16 And so Jeremiah went into the house of the prison and into a dungeon. And Jeremiah sat there for many days.

So Jeremiah was put into an underground cell, where he stayed for many days.

17 Then Zedekiah the king, sending, took him out and questioned him secretly in his house, and he said: “Do you think that there is any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said: “There is.” And he said: “You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

Then King Zedekiah sent someone who brought him to the palace. In his house, the king asked him privately, “Is there any word from Yahweh?” Jeremiah answered, “There is a word: You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

18 And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah: “How have I sinned against you, or your servants, or your people, such that you would cast me into a house of imprisonment?

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you, your servants, or this people so that you have placed me in prison?

19 Where are your prophets, who were prophesying to you, and who were saying: ‘The king of Babylon will not overwhelm you and this land?’

Where are your prophets, the ones who prophesied for you and said the king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?

20 Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king. Let my petition prevail in your sight. And do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

But now listen, my master the king! Let my pleas come before you. Do not return me to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

21 Then king Zedekiah instructed that Jeremiah be confined to the vestibule of the prison, and that they should give him a twist of bread daily, along with stew, until all the bread in the city had been consumed. And Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison.

So King Zedekiah gave an order. His servants confined Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. A loaf of bread was given him every day from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.